familypediawikiaorg-20200214-history
Brooks County, Georgia
Brooks County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 16,243. The county seat is Quitman. The county was created in 1858 from portions of Lowndes and Thomas counties by an act of the Georgia General Assembly and is named in honor of U.S. Representative Preston Brooks from South Carolina, who physically assaulted abolitionist Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts in the Senate chamber after an argument about slavery. Brooks County is included in the Valdosta, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area. In the lynching era, from 1880 to 1930, this county had the highest number of lynchings in Georgia, which was the state with the highest number of lynchings in the country. All of the victims were black, including at least 13 killed in the May 1918 lynching rampage in this county. History Native Americans and the Spanish Historic Native peoples occupying the area at the time of European encounter were the Apalachee and the Lower Creek. The first Europeans in what is now Brooks County were Spanish missionaries from their colony in Florida, who arrived around 1570. Early history The area that was to become Brooks county was first opened up to European-American settlement in 1818 when Irwin County was established. Coffee Road was built through the region in the 1820s. Lowndes Countys first court session was held at the tavern owned ran by Sion Hall on the Coffee Road, near what is now Morven, Georgia in Brooks County. Establishment Many residents of Lowndes County were unhappy when the Atlantic and Gulf Railroad announced June 17, 1858 that they had selected a planned route that would bypass Troupville. On June 22 at 3:00 am, the Lowndes County courthouse at Troupville was set aflame by William B. Crawford, who fled to South Carolina after being released on bond. On August 9, a meeting convened in the academy building in Troupville at which it was decided to create from the area of Lowndes County to the west of the Withlacoochee River a new county to be called Brooks County. On December 11, 1858, Brooks County was organized from parts of Lowndes and Thomas counties and was named for Preston Brooks, a member of Congress prior to the Civil War. He was best known for his vicious physical assault in Congress of the older Senator Charles Sumner, an anti-slavery advocate from Massachusetts. The county was developed for cotton plantations, dependent on enslaved laborers, many of whom were transported to the South in the domestic slave trade during the antebellum years. Cotton brought a high return from local and international markets, making large planters wealthy. At the time of the 1860 federal census, Brooks County had a white population of 3,067, a Free people of color population of 2, and a slave population of 3,282. The Atlantic and Gulf Railroad reached Quitman on October 23, 1860. Civil War During the Civil War, the county was the main producer of food for the Confederacy; it became known as the "Breadbasket of the South." Some Confederate Army regiments were raised from the men of Brooks County. Plantation owners, county officials, and slave patrol members were exempt from military conscription, which caused some contention between the different economic classes in Brooks County. In August 1864, a local white man named John Vickery began plotting a slave rebellion. His plan called for killing the slave owners, stealing what weapons they could find, setting fire to Quitman, going to Madison, Florida, burning the town, getting help from Union troops from the Gulf Coast, and then returning to Quitman. On the evening before the rebellion, a slave was arrested for theft and interrogated. Vickery was soon arrested as well. Vickery and the four slaves were given a military trial by the local militia. Two Confederate deserters from Florida were also believed to have been involved, but were not caught by the time of the trial. On August 23, 1864 at 6:00 p.m., Vickery, a slave named Sam, a slave named Nelson, and a slave named George were publicly hanged in Quitman. The court could not reach a decision on the guilt of a slave named Warren, who was owned by Buford Elliot. Reconstruction and Jim Crow After the war, many freedmen worked as sharecroppers or tenant farmers, in an effort to preserve some independence from planters. Following the war and the Reconstruction era, Brooks County was one of the areas with a high rate of racial violence by whites against blacks. It is the county in Georgia that had the highest number of lynchings from 1880 to 1930, when Georgia was the state with the highest number of such murders in the country of such extrajudicial murders. There were confirmed killings of 24 persons by lynching in this period, with half killed in a rampage in May 1918. In 1918, at least 13 African Americans were killed during a manhunt after Sidney Johnson killed an abusive white planter. Johnson had been forced to work under the state's convict lease system. Among those killed were Hayes Turner, and the next day his wife Mary Turner, who was eight months pregnant. They were the parents of two children. Mary Turner had condemned the mob's killing of her husband. She was abducted in Brooks County and brutally murdered at Folsom's Bridge on the Little River on the Lowndes County side; her unborn child was cut from her body and killed separately. Johnson was killed in a shootout with police. As many as 500 African Americans fled Lowndes and Brooks counties rather than risk such treatment in the future. Mary Turner's lynching drew widespread condemnation nationally, and formed the impetus for the Anti-Lynching Crusaders campaign for the 1922 Dyer Bill, sponsored by Leonidas Dyer of St. Louis. It proposed to make lynching a federal crime, as southern states essentially never prosecuted the crimes. In 2010, a state historical marker, encaptioned "Mary Turner and the Lynching Rampage," was installed at Folsom's Bridge in Lowndes County to inform the public of these atrocities. Modern In the 21st century, Brooks County is classified as being in the Plantation Trace tourist region. Historical sites *Brooks County Courthouse The Brooks County Courthouse was constructed in 1864 in the county seat of Quitman, Georgia. It was designed by architect John Wind. Brooks County officials paid for the structure with $14,958 in Confederate money. The currency soon became useless. *Brooks County Museum and Cultural Center The former library, this building was adapted for use as a cultural center. It is the site of a series of music, art, and culinary events throughout the year. Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.0%) is water. The eastern boundary of the county is made up of the Little River (Withlacoochee River) and the Withlacoochee River, which together meander along a distance of over to form that boundary. These river boundaries are shared with Cook and Lowndes counties. The southern boundary of the county has a mutual east-west interface of about with Florida, although it is not continuous. The county is discontinuous along the Florida border, with the easternmost section about a mile east of the rest of the county. This section presently consists of one parcel, recorded as , although it has a border with Florida of almost . The county shares a north-south boundary about in length with Thomas County to the west. It also shares an east-west boundary of and a north-south boundary of with Colquitt County to the northwest. The county has over 10,000 parcels of land, with 19 over and two more than . The county is home to several endangered plant and animal species, including the Pond Spicebush, the Wood Stork, and the Eastern Indigo snake. The majority of Brooks County, including the northwestern portion, all of central Brooks County, and the southeastern corner, is located in the Withlacoochee River sub-basin of the Suwannee River basin. Most of the southern edge of the county is located in the Aucilla River sub-basin of the larger Aucilla-Waccasassa basin. The county's northeastern portion, centered on Morven and including Barney, is located in the Little River sub-basin of the same Suwannee River basin. Adjacent counties * Cook County - northeast (created 1918 from Berrien County) * Lowndes County - east (created 1825 from Irwin County) * Madison County, Florida - southeast * Jefferson County, Florida - southwest * Thomas County - west (created 1825 from Early and Decatur counties) * Colquitt County - northwest (created in 1856 from Thomas and Lowndes counties) Transportation Major highways * U.S. Route 84 * U.S. Route 221 * State Route 33 * State Route 38 * State Route 76 * State Route 122 * State Route 133 * State Route 333 Railroads * CSX GA Bike Route 10 Georgia State Bicycle Route 10 is one of 14 bike routes across Georgia. Route 10 is long and goes from Lake Seminole in the west to Jekyll Island in the east. It runs a west-east route, of approximately , through the County and passes through downtown Quitman. Airport BROOKS CO (4J5) Runway length 5000' Lights, CTAF 122.9 FSS Macon 122.4 Demographics As a result of the demand for slave labor to work the cotton plantations, the county was majority black from before the Civil War well into the 20th century. Starting in the early 1900s, hundreds of blacks left the county in the Great Migration to northern and midwestern industrial cities to gain better opportunities and escape the oppressive Jim Crow conditions, including the highest rate of lynchings of blacks in Georgia from 1880 to 1930. |align-fn=center |footnote=U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2013 }} 2000 census As of the census of 2000, there were 16,450 people, 6,155 households, and 4,370 families residing in the county. The population density was 33 people per square mile (13/km²). There were 7,118 housing units at an average density of 14 per square mile (6/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 57.36% Caucasian, 39.34% Black or African American, 0.30% Native American, 0.26% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.76% from other races, and 0.94% from two or more races. 3.07% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 6,155 households out of which 31.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.30% were married couples living together, 18.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.00% were non-families. 25.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.11. In the county, the population was spread out with 26.90% under the age of 18, 8.90% from 18 to 24, 26.90% from 25 to 44, 22.30% from 45 to 64, and 15.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 92.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.80 males. The median income for a household in the county was $26,911, and the median income for a family was $32,382. Males had a median income of $26,303 versus $18,925 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,977. About 19.10% of families and 23.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 32.40% of those under age 18 and 20.10% of those age 65 or over. 2010 census As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 16,243 people, 6,457 households, and 4,379 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 7,706 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 59.9% white, 35.3% black or African American, 0.3% Asian, 0.3% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific islander, 2.9% from other races, and 1.2% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 5.3% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 16.3% were American, 8.3% were Irish, 6.4% were English, and 5.9% were German. Of the 6,457 households, 31.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.2% were married couples living together, 16.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 32.2% were non-families, and 27.6% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.06. The median age was 40.3 years. The median income for a household in the county was $41,309 and the median income for a family was $47,599. Males had a median income of $38,791 versus $25,006 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,346. About 14.7% of families and 17.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.5% of those under age 18 and 22.3% of those age 65 or over. Education The Brooks County School District offers pre-school to grade twelve. There are two elementary schools, a middle school and a high school, Brooks County High School.Georgia Board of Education , Retrieved May 31, 2010. The district has 167 full-time teachers and over 2,563 students.School Stats, Retrieved May 31, 2010. *North Brooks Elementary School *Quitman Elementary School *Brooks County Middle School *Brooks County High School Government The Government consists of a five-member Board of Commissioners. Under the guidelines of the Commissioners is a County Administrator, a Sheriff and Tax Commissioner, the Judicial System and other Boards and Authorities. Recreation Brooks County is well known for its wildlife. Quail, dove, ducks, and deer abound in the fields and forests. Brooks County also offers excellent fishing in its many lakes and streams, which are open to the public. Hospital Brooks County Hospital, a part of Archbold Medical Center, a 25-bed facility was established in 1935 and has 24-hour emergency facilities. Communities Cities * Barwick (partly in Thomas County, Georgia) * Morven * Pavo (partly in Thomas County, Georgia) * Quitman Unincorporated communities * Barney * Dixie * Grooverville * New Rock Hill * Sanderson * Pidcock See also *National Register of Historic Places listings in Brooks County, Georgia References External links * Brooks County Board of Tax Assessors * Brooks County Chamber of Commerce * Brooks County Sheriff's Office * Brooks County Public Library * Brooks County CODE * Brooks County Museum * Brooks County Hospital * Brooks County School District * Magistrate Court of Brooks County * Brooks County Criminal Court * Brooks County historical marker * Columbia Primitive Baptist Church historical marker Category:Brooks County, Georgia Category:1858 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Category:Counties of Georgia (U.S. state) Category:Valdosta metropolitan area counties Category:Settlements established in 1858